Freddie Lees obituary

My father, Freddie Lees, who has died aged 87, spent a long career in public service overseas. His first posting as a civil servant with the British Overseas Service was to Malaya, in 1949, while it was still under British rule. Much of his work then related to countering the communist insurgency before independence. Learning Malay, he helped guide the Federation of Malaya to independence in 1957 and continued working for its government until the early 60s.

Subsequently he entered the diplomatic service, which took him back to south-east Asia at the time of Indonesian confrontation against the creation of Malaysia. In the 1970s he became involved in the work of British and European non-governmental agencies active in developing countries. Later he returned to diplomatic work to train members of the foreign service of Papua New Guinea. The last part of his overseas career was spent in the Asian Development Bank in Manila.

In retirement, he published diverse books, from The Arthuriad of Catumandus (1996), set in the early dark ages in Britain, to Annals of the Purple City (1997), a novel about east-west human relationships rich in erotic and mystical elements. He began a planned trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels with Fool's Gold: The Malayan Life of Ferdach O'Haney (2005). The Rape of Rye (2006) described contemporary social life in the East Sussex town, where he lived for many years, and The First Lady (2012) was based on the life of Imelda Marcos.

Freddie was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire. He served in RAF Bomber Command during the war as navigator and afterwards studied geography at Liverpool University. After joining the British Overseas Service, he studied at Soas in London, and continued studies in Cantonese in Macau, before being posted to Malaya.

Freddie was much loved by friends and family and was a huge character in the life of Rye. He was a leading figure in the project to set up a theatre in the town. The Fletcher theatre, celebrating the life and works of Shakespeare's collaborator John Fletcher (a Rye local), will focus on Renaissance theatre from England and France, and is set to become an integral part of the annual Rye festival.

He is survived by his wife, Marie, whom he married in 1955, two sons, Matthew and me, and six grandchildren.

Sign up for the Guardian Today

Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.